App Store Update: August 17

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The makers of Bloons invite you to now meet the Meeblings.

By Lucas M. Thomas

Every day hundreds of new apps make their debut on the App Store, and hundreds more are updated or reduced in price. We have sifted through the noise and highlighted those select few that might be worth your attention.

Game Debuts

Meeblings – (Free)

You've probably played one of the Bloons games in the past, and now the same studio responsible for bursting so many virtual balloons invites you to meet the Meeblings – little smiling blobs starring in a physics-based puzzle adventure.

The latest virtual version of a physical deck-building card game has great source material to draw on, as anyone who's played Thunderstone with tangible cards will tell you. Early word is this app edition is a bit rough around the edges here at launch, but it's free to try – and giving it a download now will help you keep an eye out for updates that address its issues going forward.

Price Drops

Alien Breed – ($0.99)

This Team 17 remake of a vintage 1991 top-down shooter has already shown up twice in earlier August App Store Updates, but we're committed to keeping it in front of your faces frequently. After a brief price increase pushed it up to the three dollar range, It's on sale again for 99 cents.

Jazz: Trump's Journey – ($0.99)

Also down to 99 cents is the App Store's most soulful game design, Jazz: Trump's Journey. Give its trailer a view, or, more importantly, a listen:

Sonic CD – ($2.99)

Sega's having a sale to salute the end of summer as students head back to school, and the great iOS port of Sonic CD is one of the best bets you'll find from the House of the Hedgehog. Feel free to read our review, too, before dashing off to buy it.

Exit Theatre Mode

VS. Racing – (Free)

We'll finish out the week with three final freebie options for you. First up is VS. Racing, Maciek Drejak Labs' design that will be seeing a sequel in the App Store soon. (So try out the original now.)

Hambo – (Free)

And then we have Hambo, which, yes, is a combination of Ham and Rambo. Pigs with guns!

Spell Sword – (Free)

And finally, Spell Sword, a good old retro-esque hack 'n slash that winks at everything from The Legend of Zelda to Game of Thrones.

And that's all for this week! If you haven't already, remember to subscribe to the App Store Update via email for extra convenience:

Lucas M. Thomas is IGN Nintendo's longtime champion of downloadable titles across the Wii, DSi and 3DS. He's happy to now be helping Justin round up the best options for App Store shoppers. You can follow him on Twitter.